Margaret Rhoda advises publicly held and private companies in federal securities compliance and corporate governance matters.
Her experience includes counseling public companies with respect to regulatory requirements, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and NYSE and Nasdaq rules, as well as corporate governance best practices. Margaret distills detailed legal research on sensitive issues into practical advice for her public and private company clients. In addition, she drafts disclosure documents for public companies and transactional documents for capital raising, including registration statements and private placement memoranda.
Margaret also regularly advises start-up and microcap companies regarding compliance with federal and state securities laws in connection with private offerings.
Before joining Harter Secrest & Emery, Margaret practiced as a corporate associate in the real estate capital markets group at Proskauer Rose LLP in Chicago, IL, with a particular focus on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and mergers and acquisitions.
Representative Experience
- Initial public offering on Nasdaq of foreign contract garment manufacturer
- Managed proxy solicitation and annual meeting process for newly public company
- Modernized proxy statement disclosure for Nasdaq-listed company to better reflect its market position and growing business
- Issuer counsel for at-the-market offering of up to $40 million of common stock
- Placement agent counsel in registered direct offerings of $5 million and $4.3 million for growing alternative energy company
- Underwriter counsel in registered direct offering of $4.8 million and confidentially marketed public offering of $2.8 million for biotechnology security company
- Issuer and underwriter counsel in private placement offerings in a variety of industries, including biotechnology, food service, fintech, manufacturing, and software
Honors & Awards
- Proskauer’s Golden Gavel Award for Pro Bono Service
- DePaul University College of Law
- Associate Editor, DePaul Law Review, Volume 64
- Order of the Coif
Publications
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Co-Author, “New Tools for Small Companies to Raise Capital,” Rochester Business Journal, November 12, 2019
- Co-Author, “A Few Tweets Cost Tesla CEO Elon Musk $20 Million and Chairmanship,” Legalcurrents®, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, October 15, 2018
- Co-Author, “SEC Amends Definition of Smaller Reporting Company and Expands Scaled Disclosure Eligibility,” LEGALcurrents®, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, July 23, 2018
- Co-Author, “Mind Your Ds and Os: Policy Language Proves Determinative in Director and Officer Insurance Coverage,” Proskauer: Risk and Recovery, August 15, 2014
- Co-Author, “Declining Vitality of the Audit Interference Rule: A 50 State Survey of Auditor Liability,” DRI: FOR THE DEFENSE, February 201A
News
- Featured, “Real estate investment market may look different post-COVID-19,” Rochester Business Journal, April 17, 2020
- Featured, “Two U.S. REITs Merging in $1.4B Deal,” Law360, September 7, 2016
Admissions
- Illinois
- New York
Education
- DePaul University College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- The University of Notre Dame, B.A., with honors